Promoting awareness of sexual assault

David Hulse
Posted 8/21/12

HONESDALE, PA — Teal, the color for sexual awareness programs, was evident in both Wayne and Pike counties last week, as county commissioners recognized April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month with …

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Promoting awareness of sexual assault

Posted

HONESDALE, PA — Teal, the color for sexual awareness programs, was evident in both Wayne and Pike counties last week, as county commissioners recognized April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month with proclamations.

Nationally, according to a 2005 study, one in six boys and one in four girls will experience sexual assault before age 18.

Michelle Minor-Wolfe, executive director of Wayne County’s Victims Intervention Program, said the agency provided services for 940 victims last year, up from 868 the prior year. “More people are aware of it,” she said.

She said changes in reporting after the incidents at Penn State prompted additional reporting.

Denise Larsen, program director, said new calls are not necessarily current incidents. “We’re getting calls about things that happened many, many years ago. There is usually an increase [with the annual awareness campaigns] in April and May. People who might not have known what to do, now are searching out,” she said.

Commissioner Jonathan Fritz said sexual assault is a “dark, heinous subject” that society doesn’t want to talk about, but “the reality is, we have to.”

Commissioner Wendell Kay said that while explaining the problem to children is not an easy subject, “it has to be brought up. This is a crucial element. We all know someone who has been touched by this,” he said.

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